Press releases

Partisan Chronicles: Partisans’ Self-Made Weapons

MINSK, 23 January (BelTA) –  Partisans needed a substantial arsenal of weapons to fight against German invaders. Armament was mainly delivered from the Soviet rear. However, partisans frequently used the weapons made in forest gunsmith shops.

The gunsmith shop of the Razgrom unit was so efficient that it was dubbed “partisans’ Tula”. In spring 1944 self-trained engineer Nikolai Sergeyev from the Znamya unit developed an original design of a gun; six units of such a gun were made.

“Partisan Chronicles: Partisans’ Self-Made Weapons” is a new page of the joint project of BelTA and the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. It is dedicated to gunsmiths who showed the wonders of engineering by creating their own designs from improvised material.

The project is based on a unique collection of handwritten partisan journals provided by the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. The collection was assigned the status of historical and cultural value of international importance (Class 1). Every week BelTA brings these chronicles to light and posts their digital copies. Each of them sheds light on various aspects of partisans’ life, gives a glimpse into thoughts and feelings of people who risked their lives to fight a battle behind enemy lines.

Till 3 July 2019 BelTA will publish digests of these chronicles and upload their digital versions complementing the unique content with photos from its own archives.

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